Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs died last Wednesday (see Li Wei’s blog post). In addition to that, the recentannouncement of the iPhone 4S failed to impress consumers as well as investors. Analysts were instantly hypothesizing that this event might have a strong influence on the company’s future product demand and accordingly, its stock price.

Apple and several wireless carriers all over the world started taking pre-orders for the new iPhone on Friday and according to AT&T, 200,000 pre-orders in 12 hours at this company alone make it the most successful iPhone-launch of all time. Besides the iOS5 and better hardware, sales are probably also boosted by the death of Apple’s icon, Steve Jobs: “I wanted to show support and help to knock initial sales out of the ballpark” (2).

Apple users mourning in front of an Apple store

Although Jobs’ morbid last service will only last for a short time, it can help Apple compensate its investors initial doubts about their new smartphone’s success. Furthermore, the availability of the successor for $199 increases demand for the iPhone 4 because it can now be sold at a lower price, for instance for $99 as part of a Verizon phone plan (4). Subsequently, by selling more old iPhones and already having set a record of pre-orders for the successor, Apple still remains a strong force in the smartphone market (3).

Comment on Li Wei’s post:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/weili/2011/10/06/what-will-happen-to-apple-after-jobs/

Sources:

1) http://www.huliq.com/3257/apple-stock-drops-sharply-during-iphone-4s-introduction Michael Santo, 4.10.2011

2) http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/72052fa8-eeb7-11e0-959a-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1ZhM6QQeX Joseph Menn, 5.10.2011

3) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203388804576615731788704032.html Geoffrey A. Showler & Ian Sherr, (8th paragraph), 9.10.2011

4) http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=5782 Verizon Homepage, 9.10.2011